Bradford police officer Ben Lister faces misconduct hearing

Police sergeant Ben Lister, 36, was found guilty of sexually assaulting and raping a woman while they were staying at the same house after a night out in 2016.

In March, prosecutors said the officer dragged the “very drunk” woman off a sofa while she was asleep.

He then began touching her sexually as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Read more: Update on challenge over ten-year jail sentence for rapist police officer

Lister had denied the offence, claiming his victim consented to the intercourse.

Lister said there had been “flirting” between them and the woman did nothing to suggest she did not want to engage in sexual activity that night.

Prosecutor Richard Woolfall suggested that Lister had “scarpered” when he sobered up the next morning and subsequent text messages in which the defendant told the woman they hadn’t slept together were “damage limitation”.

When she asked if they'd had intercourse he lied, telling her he'd “only performed oral sex”.

He said the woman was later “in denial” that her baby had resulted from a rape, but a DNA test proved Lister was “18 million” times more likely to be the dad than not.

Prosecutor Richard Woolfall, read out the victim's impact statement which said she 'saw Lister' in her baby's face.

She said she used to "sort of resent" her child as her child was "a constant reminder of what he did to me".

She described her child as "caring" and said she just wanted her child to "know the truth".

Sentencing Lister at Bradford Crown Court, Judge Jonathan Rose said he had then contacted the woman the next day, “testing the waters to see if you had got away with having sexual intercourse with a comatose woman”.

Following the jury’s verdict he was jailed for 10 years for rape and four years for the assault by penetration, to be served concurrently, and required to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

Lister, who had been with the force since 2007, will be the subject of West Yorkshire Police’s misconduct hearing, which will be held tomorrow and Friday. 

He was suspended when first charged with the offences in December 2020.

The misconduct notice reads: “It is considered that this conduct engages and breaches the standards of professional behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct and amounts to gross misconduct i.e. so serious that dismissal would be justified.”

Police Sergeant Ben Lister arriving at court for a previous hearing (Image: PA/Newsquest)

Following Lister's conviction in spring, Detective Superintendent Mark Long, of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “I would like to praise the bravery and courage of the victim who came forward in this case.

"I hope this conviction demonstrates that no one is above the law.

“I would encourage anyone who has any similar concerns to come forward and report them, they can have the confidence that we will investigate and will take action. 

“I have no doubt that the serious criminal behaviour of one of our officers will leave colleagues as horrified as I am.

“West Yorkshire Police expects the highest standards of conduct and behaviour from its officers, whether they are on or off duty. This officer’s actions fell far below those standards. 

“It is a privilege to work for West Yorkshire Police and the vast majority of police officers, PCSOs and police staff recognise this.

“They work tirelessly to protect and serve the communities of this county and to safeguard vulnerable victims. We have all been let down by this officer.

“He still faces a misconduct case and we will be taking action to ensure our procedures will be concluded at the earliest opportunity.”

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